Guardian of Gods
by SerenityArtDragon
Summary: To read original backstory check out my deviantart at SerenityArtDragon Kayla is the leader of a society that protects dimensions from danger. She has the help of her friends Scott, Xavier and Serenity the dragon. Through her adventures in the dimensions she meets Thor and Loki as children and becomes a nanny of sorts and follows them growing up.
1. Chapter 1: Two Boys and a Cape Fire

Chapter 1: Two Boys and a Cape Fire

Kayla strode through the golden hallways behind a man in armor a color that was quite similar to the place they were in. It was a good thing she had a guide she thought, this place boiled down to being a very elaborate, although very beautiful, maze. It would take her quite a long time to be able to navigate the corridors of Asgard by herself.

She thought back on the events of the past few days, not days, there are no days in the negative space, passage of time is different for you she corrected herself. It felt like days though. She had been sitting at her desk and, as usual, she was pulling another late-night. She shook her head, no time, no nights. They did have a set. She did need to sleep though, and the lights in the base just followed a regular schedule. Xavier said that their concept of "time" around there was based on the current Guardian's dimension. So lights on equaled day and lights off equaled night to her.

She often stayed up late into the "night" doing research and other work. These were one of these such nights. When a young messenger burst into the room, he bent over and panted. He held out a large packet with one hand and put the other on his knee. As she got up to grab the packet he shot up into a standing up position. Terror emanating from his face.

He saluted and spat out words so fast they were barely recognizable "I'msorrysiruhmamIshouldofknock edfirstIamsosorryPleaseforgi vesuchrudenessyouwereprob-"

"Please don't worry about it. I don't mind." She smiled lightly, she had not had time to prepare herself for the young man so her face couldn't hide the evidence of so many sleepless nights.

"B-b-b-butyouwereprobablysleepingor workinganditwassorudeofmetod othattoyouandyouaremysuperio r..." His eyes widened, probably with the realization he was wasting her precious time. "I-I-I accept any discipline you might feel necessary." He bowed is head and his eyes drifted to the corner of the room as he chewed the corner of his lip.

"Don't worry about it. I won't punish you. You bursting in was probably a good thing, I was starting to fall asleep at my desk. I still have lots of work to do." She muttered through a yawn. Her arms reached up in a stretch. "And judging from how heavily you are breathing, you must of been running. It must be important, is it not?"

"It is very important!" he piped, perking up considerably. "You have a mission. There is detailed information in the packet but I was told to give you a quick briefing. I am assuming you have heard of the Avengers?" She nodded, her hand motioning for him to continue as she turned and took her cup of coffee from the desk. She chugged the whole cup in 5 seconds, even though it was cold and probably from this morning if she could recall. The stuff had become her life force. "Well you have a mission in the dimension that connects to the movies that were made in yours recently. Intel shows there is a Shadow there. We believe it shows up in a large battle. However we believe that to keep you from getting arrested or anything you need to go undercover for several of thousands of their years. To start with you will be meeting with Odin Allfather, our agents in that dimension have already set up a alternate identity for you. You will be the "nanny" so to speak of his boys. Thor and Loki Odinson. We know they play a large role in that dimension's timeline. You will check in periodically to find out what you need to do later. We have found just one rule other than the basics for you. To keep your cover and to prevent altering the timeline you cannot reveal your true identity to any of the Avengers or anyone else in that dimension until after the fight with the Shadow. You can choose if you are taking your dragon with or not."

"I will not take her, it will be easier to keep my cover that way." She said taking the packet. He nodded.

"Oh and one more thing. Mr. Jones said that you can take a day off from your other work to prepare before leaving and that all of your desk work will be taken care of while you are gone."

"Jones? Oh you mean Xavier. Okay please tell him thank you if you get a chance. I will get right on it." With that he had left. Now she was here in Asgard preparing to meet the ruler. Her stomach had butterflies and her Aesir clothing was unnatural and uncomfortable. She straitened her armor then walked into the throne room.

She knelt "Allfather"

"Please rise, and if you are going to care for the boys we must become more friendly. Please call me Odin." The man mentioned standing up and coming down the stairs. His golden armor glinted in the light.

"Yes sir, I am Kayla Sterron. Thank you sir, uh, Odin for accepting me for this position." She stood looking him in the eye.

"No, thank you. I am sure you will be a big help. But you should probably meet the boys." He smiled and nodded to a guard who rushed to a door. With that two young boys, who looked about 6 to 8 years old, but were probably much older came into the room. One immediately caught her attention when he ran up to her, red cape rustling behind him.

"Hello! I am Thor" He said a huge smile stretched across his face as he looked up at her. He pushed up on his toes to get as close to her face as possible. His blond hair cascading down is head. "What might your name be, my lady?"

"My name is Kayla." She smiled back. She bent down to talk with the young Thor. Who was so excited to meet her. Suddenly she saw a green flash of light and the corner of her cape caught on fire. Not surprised, she calmly bent down and smothered the flame with the rest of the cloak. She looked to the other boy. He had stayed back closer to the door. His head was turned away from her trying to hide his laughter. She walked over to him and crouched down to his level. "So you must be Loki, that was a pretty cool trick you did there." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you both."

He stared at her for a moment with large green eyes. "It is nice to meet you to." He smiled. She looked at his eyes and them straightened up.

He was lying. She knew from that moment that he truly hated her.


	2. Chapter 2: The Nightmare

Chapter 2: The Nightmare

Loki never liked the idea of a nanny. He had thought Father had done away with all ideas of them when the last one hit him, but obviously that was not the case as he was standing in the throne room in front of Father with Thor at his side.

"There is someone who has offered to help take care of you for a while." He explained more and then asked. "Are you both okay with that?"

"Of course Father!" They chimed in unison. He was not okay with it what-so-ever but like usual a carefully trained mask hid his true emotions from those around him. They were dismissed.

Loki lay reading a book on the floor. It was a very interesting book, something that intrigued him deeply- Magic. When he wasn't reading he was practicing his skills or exploring Asgard. However he couldn't focus on the book today. It wasn't Thor and his friends making a racket while fighting imaginary monsters that distracted him. The idea of the nanny kept coming to the front of his mind.

He sighed and snapped the book shut, handing it to a guard to place back on the shelf. He needed some time to think. He walked out of the room, he thought he might be able to warp to the place he wanted to go to. But then changed his mind, the spell was a complicated one and he hasn't tried warping more than a few feet yet. He shuddered eliminating the consequences of failing a spell that complicated from his mind. They were not pretty images.

The trees stretched over the river, protecting it from the heat of midday. Fish swam in the clear water and birds sang in the trees. The place was not far from the palace but was not well known. It was Loki's spot, a place to escape from his family, especially Thor, and think. He took of his boots and hopped across the stones to the middle of the river. He stretched out on a particularly large rock and allowed his toes to dangle in the water. The sun that filtered through the trees warmed his back and made the water sparkle.

The nanny's just never payed much attention to him. Allowing his thoughts to flow freely calmed him. Thinking his way out of tricky situations had always been his strong point. Just like every one else. He recalled bitterly. It was always Thor, Thor, Thor. Oh Thor wanted to go out and play outside, okay. It never mattered if Loki wanted to stay inside and read. Thor wants to show you a new fighting move he has learned. Okay. But if Loki wanted to show you a new spell he'd learned, oh Loki I am busy right now. It's all Thor's fault he thought. Green energy sparked around him with his anger. The birds stop chirping and the fish disappeared. The sun dropped behind clouds.

Tears welled in his eyes and ran down his cheeks, each droplet making a little "plink" as it hit the water. The energy stopped and he clenched his hands looking into his reflection. Was there something wrong with him? Did he do something wrong to deserve being ignored. "I hate you, Thor!" He screamed and the birds exploded out of the trees, cawing and yelling as the went. His angry face turned to shock as he realized what he just said. "No I don't, I don't hate Thor." He whispered. "It's not his fault everyone pays attention to him." Loki rolled over on the rock and looked up at the sky. Rain dripped onto his face, washing away all evidence of his tears.

He stood and hopped back to the bank, pulled on his boots and trudged home. The pouring rain reflecting his inner feelings that he hid from the rest of the world.

He hated the nanny. It didn't matter how much she tried to be nice to him or how much she tried to get his attention he knew she would be the same in the end. She would end up gloating over Thor. He wanted her attention, but he didn't want it because he knew if he grew attached to her, she would hurt him in the end.

At first he would play pranks on her, setting her cape on fire, making a bad smell follow her around. But she always just smiled and laughed about it asking about how he did such a cool trick. How did she always know it was him? But as time went on his pranks grew more and more violent. He set spiders loose in her room, her worst fear. He would disappear for hours on end so she would grow frantic and worried then reappear before dinner. He tainted her dreams with nightmare after nightmare each night. But nothing warded her off. He was at a loss for what to do.

Loki was falling, falling through blackness. Above him Thor and Father looked down with sad faces. He reached for them but they did nothing. Why wouldn't they help him? The scene changed and he was standing in a strange place he had never seen before. There were monsters all around him and one reached out and touched his face. Suddenly an immense pain racked through his body causing him to convulse.

Loki shot up in bed a small squeak emitted from his lips. His face was covered in sweat and tears streamed down his cheeks. He curled up in the corner of the walls and pulled the blanket up to his chin. Shadows swarmed around his room reminding him of the monsters in the horrific nightmare. Thor's soft snores above him reminded him of their growls and the memory of the pain the inflicted still coursed through his body.

Suddenly the door to the room opened a crack and a figure stepped in, closing the door behind it. It moved toward the bed, silently quickly. Loki's eyes widened and he shook with fear. He tried to slow his breathing hoping the creature wouldn't notice him. The figure stood close to the bed and peaked into the top bunk. Then leaned down to look into Loki's bed. Loki pushed himself back into the corner as far as possible.

"Loki? What are you doing up?" Kayla's soft, concerned voice drifted from the figured. Loki threw his arms around her neck and sobbed into her shoulder. Startled that the boy who seemed to despise her so much would do this, she didn't react for a moment. Then she realized what was happening and wrapped her arms around him. She rubbed his back and whispered "Shh. It's alright. You're okay now. I'm here." He pulled his head back and stared at her with large watery green eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hated you. I'm sorry for putting spiders in your room and an-" he sputtered through his sobs. She brushed her hand against the side of his head pushing his dark hair back away from his face.

"It's okay. I don't mind. But lets go to a different room before you wake Thor up." Loki's eyes widened larger than they were before. It wasn't Loki be quiet or you'll wake Thor up or Loki shut up you'll wake Thor. She was offering to help. He pushed his face into where her shoulder and neck connected and cried harder. She scooped him up into her arms and softly walked out of the room. Rubbing his back and muttering "Shh. It'll be alright. You're okay."


	3. Chapter 3: Eggs and Bacon

Chapter 3: Eggs and Bacon

Kayla rolled out of bed with a thunk onto the floor. She slowly picked herself up and trudged over to the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and splashed freezing water on her face, which did nothing to help her tired state. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Bags were multiplying under her eyes and her hair was a rat's nest. She already didn't get much sleep because of the nightmares that Loki admitted to making her have and last night didn't help. Last night had been a long one.

She had started heading to bed and went to check on the boys to make sure they were okay. Thor was fine. Snoring, curled up in a ball with his red sheets a mess. She had gotten quite the surprise when she leaned down to check on Loki. She found him wedged against the walls which their bunk beds were pushed up against. He was holding his breath and his green blanket pulled up around him. "Loki what are you doing up?" was all she had said before he flung himself into her arms and started balling. She took him into her room and sat on the bed. She laid him down and he rested his head on her leg as she leaned against the wall. Whispering to him, she stroked his black hair. He ended up crying himself to sleep on her leg. The remnants of his crying still audible in his soft breathing.

She wondered what he would of done had she not come in. He had muttered to her with sagging eyelids "My nightmares aren't as scary when your here. Promise you'll come every time, promise you'll make me feel better?"

"I promise" he smiled then he had drifted off to sleep. Does he have nightmares a lot? She assumed so from his comment. What does he do? Loki was not the type of boy to show his feelings to others. He was teased and excluded enough, he didn't want to show weakness. She knew the feeling. Does he sit like that in his bed?Terrified and Jumping at every shadow that moved in the room. Crying?

She threw on some clothes, pulled her short hair up into a ponytail and walked out of the room. She thought about the future. There was quite a bit of information that she read about them. Loki was adopted, he was a frost giant. It was revealed to him much later. He tried to take out his anger on Jodenhiem and Midguard. She thought about it. She could tell from his face, his eyes, last night, the little boy had a lot of anger, pain, and sadness he hid away behind a carefully trained mask. It wasn't just the fact that he was adopted. He had years of negative emotion piled inside him and he was filled to the brim. The pain that was added from the revelation was too much and he overflowed. It wasn't much different from herself really. She remembered having nightmares. Replaying her parents death over and over in her mind. They had been sitting at a railroad crossing and the bars were coming down, the person behind them was drunk and hit their bumper pushing them onto the tracks and then... and then. Tears welled up in her eyes, she shook her head, trying to shake the memory out of her minds eye. That memory had haunted her nightmares for years. She had sat crying in her room, her eyes moving at every shadow. It was uncanny how much they had in common she thought.

She reached their room and opened the door. Thor's snores almost drowned out Loki's soft breathing. She walked over to the windows and opened the curtains. The light shown through onto Loki's face. He rolled over rubbing his eyes.

"Is it time to get up already?"

"Yep unfortunately" She said picking him up out of bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Lo, I want to give you something. Is that okay?" He nodded. She pulled a small thing on a string out of her pocket. It had a button on it. She pressed it into his palm. "If you ever need me again." He nodded understanding the reference "Just push that button and I will be right there, okay?" He nodded and smiled. He thought about her as she set him down and he put it in his pillow. She knew he would keep her promise. People had a hard time lying to him.

Kayla climbed up the ladder and carefully woke Thor. She had learned not to wake him up too abruptly after the first time. It was not fun, she ended up with quite a jolt, blackened and with frizzy hair that took days to calm down. He yawned and she picked him up still half asleep. She started to walk out and a little hand grabbed her pant leg, looking up at her with one arm outstretched was Loki. A smile came on her face and she took the hand that Loki held out and walked out of the room to get them some breakfast. Even though she was pretty sure Thor had fallen back asleep in the short period and was now drooling on her shirt.

Kayla sat Thor down at the table, he had finally woken up by the time they reached the kitchen, where Kayla often made them breakfast. The cooks could do it for her, but she liked to cook and liked seeing their faces when they tried some new foods that her parents had made for her. Loki climbed onto his chair.

"What should we have for breakfast?" She asked looking at them.

"BACON!" Thor yelled. She had made it for them her first day and ever since then it has been Thor's favorite breakfast food.

"Well we are going to need a little more than just bacon Thor."

"Can we have scrambled eggs?" Loki looked up at her.

"Scrambled eggs sound great!" He smiled but it was cut short by a yawn. She smiled. Even before last night Loki had been pretty mellow in the mornings. Loki was a light sleeper, woke up easier but needed an hour or so before he was completely awake. Thor on the other hand slept like he was dead, the only thing betraying the fact that he was alive was his snoring. He was hard to wake up but once he was he was like a cannon. Up and running right away.

She turned on the stove. They had customized part of the kitchen for her and made it something she was more comfortable with and they always kept it stocked. She finished cooking and gave each of them a plate full of scrambled eggs and bacon "What do you guys want to do today?" Loki shrugged picking at his food. His black hair that was usually neat was tangled and a mess, a large piece hung in his face as he took a bite of the eggs, melted cheese still connecting it to his plate. She reached over and pushed it back. He looked at her but kept eating. Had she done that a day ago he probably would have caught her cape on fire again.

"Can we see my friends?" Thor mumbled through his mouth full of food.

"That sounds like a great idea Thor, hmm maybe we can make cookies." She said pondering. It was something her mother had often done with her.

They looked at her as if she was speaking in Greek.


	4. Chapter 4: Cookies and a Little Mischief

Chapter 4: Cookies and a Little Mischief

Kayla stood at the island in the center of the kitchen. She had all the supplies out for chocolate chip cookies, the oven was on and was just looking over the recipe. Loki was standing at the edge of the counter on his toes peering up over the edge. Thor had gone and gotten Sif and the Warriors Three, as they were called, and they were all just walking in.

"Alright you guys all need to go wash your hands." A task her and Loki had done just moments before. She started pulling chairs up to the island. One for each of them to stand on. Loki climbed onto one and stood up, his arms just above the counter top. Each of them took their respective places around the counter. "Alright we are going to make chocolate chip cookies. There are a lot of things we need to put in this bowl so we can mix it together." She put her hand on the mixer. "So you are each going to take turns. Let's see you should always let the guest go first and also ladies first. So Sif will start and the we will go through Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun."

"May I go next?" Thor asked. Loki looked up at her and shrugged, then nodded his head.

"Alright Thor can go next then Loki. Okay first we need to put the butter in. Unwrap that out of the plastic and put it in the bowl. A stick of butter was passed to Sif and to Volstagg. Sif quickly unwrapped it and dropped it in the bowl with expert fingers. Volstagg had a harder time but managed to finally unwrap and drop the butter in the bowl. "Alright next comes the sugars, just dump those in." She handed Fandral a small bowl of brown sugar and Hogun a small bowl of white sugar. She had decided to pre-measure all of the dry ingredients just to make it easier.

"Woa this stuff looks quite weird." Fandral proclaimed.

"It's just sugar. It's what makes the cookies sweet." They dumped in the sugar and she turned on the mixer. She grabbed a few measuring spoons while it was working. She turned and shut it off. Volstagg went to stick a finger in the bowl but she grabbed his hand. "You probably shouldn't eat that. Not yet. Alright next comes eggs." She handed Loki and Thor each an egg.

"What is this hard white object you call an 'egg'" She laughed.

"Thor you had eggs this morning for breakfast."

"Nay, I do not believe this trickery. Scrambled Eggs are fluffy and yellow." He muttered holding up to his eye and tapping the white shell.

"Well that's what the stuff in scrambled eggs comes from. You just have to crack it open. Here let me show you." She took his hand in hers and helped him tap it against the edge of the bowl so there was a small crack in it. "Alright now just stick your fingers into the crack and pull it apart. Try not to get any of the hard white part in the bowl though. He did so and now held two destroyed egg halves in his hands. "Go throw those in the garbage." He turned and she quickly reached in and drew out the large shell pieces he allowed to fall into the bowl.

"Alright now you try Loki"

"Alright." He leaned in and tapped the egg on the bowl. He looked at the egg and frowned. "There aren't any cracks in it."

"That's okay you just have to hit it a little harder." She took his hand and helped him put a crack in the egg. He stuck his fingers in the egg and made a face, which made the group laugh. He glared at them and continued to open the egg. Then he waved his hand over the egg and it floated to the garbage can and dropped itself into the can. He glanced into the bowl. There wasn't one eggshell. He smirked triumphantly. "Good Job!" Alright now we need to blend it up again. She turned on the mixer for a few more seconds then shut it off. A few more ingredients were handed around. Sif dumped in salt. Volstagg a mixture of baking soda and water. Fandral poured in the oatmeal.

Then it came to Hogun and he had to put in the vanilla. Kayla measured out a spoon and handed it to him to dump in. He got a small amount on his hand and licked it off. He cringed and then made an odd face. Everyone laughed and Kayla turned around from the sink.

"You ate some of the vanilla didn't you."

"No." He said quietly.

"Well here then you want to try some?" She grabbed the bottle from the other side of the counter.

"No"

"It doesn't taste good does it?"

"No." She laughed

"Here have some of this. It will make the taste go away." The spoon of sugar she handed him quickly went onto his tongue. "Okay we have only a few more things to do and then we can put them in the oven. Thor put this in there. Slowly." Thor took the large bowl and dumped it in. Slow had no meaning to Thor. A large puff of powder came out of the bowl and into his face. He coughed and waved away the smoke.

"What *cough* What sorcery is this? *cough*"

"It's just flour Thor. It just puffs up if you dump it in a little too fast." Loki giggled and studied his brother and the puff of flour. An amused smirk came onto his face and he dragged the large glass jar off flour towards him a little. "Alright and Loki you can dump in these." She handed him a large bag of chocolate chips.

"What is it?" He pondered.

"Oh that's right I forgot you've never had chocolate before. You can each try one." The bag was passed around the counter.

"Well aren't they odd looking." Fandral said.

"They're good!" Volstagg said chomping away at a handfull.

"Don't eat too many or else we won't have any left for the cookies." Loki dumped what was left in and Kayla turned on the mixer. Then after a few seconds she turned it off and started putting balls of cookie dough on sheets. She set one on the left corner turned around and set one on the left corner again. She looked down to see Volstagg with a large glob of cookie dough in his mouth. Everyone else seemed to have a little around the edge of their mouth also. "Alright, Alright that's enough." She rubbed his head. "Why don't you all go wash your hands while I finish putting these in the oven." She turned her head and leaned over to put several trays into the oven.

Loki had a different plan than washing his hands though. He turned around from the back of the line and climbed back up onto his chair. Flour was carefully poured into the bowl and he put down the mixer into the bowl just as he had seen Kayla do. He hopped down and went over to the other side of the room. His hand waved through the air in front of him and the small switch on the side of the mixer moved over to high.

Suddenly a puff of white exploded into the air covering everything in a layer of white. Kayla coughed several times, removing the airborne powder from her lungs. She happened to be closest to the mixer and was covered in a thick layer of white. Most of Thor was covered and the backs of the warriors three. Sif luckily was behind the four boys and barely got a speck of white on her. Kayla whipped around to see Loki with a triumphant smirk on his face. Safely out of range of the flour bomb.

"Alright Mischief you were asking for this one!" She shouted and chased him around the island. She finally caught up to him and swung him up into a large bear hug causing him also to be coated in white. She ran her hands through his hair dying what was usually black white with all the flour. He pushed away from her chest with his hands but was cracking up. She laid him down on the ground but started to tickle him. He laughed even harder.

"St-stop ehehehe p-p-please ehehehehe" He rolled around on the ground, only coating himself in more flour.

"Alright I think you have had enough." She sat back onto her heels. He looked up at her, tears of laughter falling down his face. Then he pounced making her fall backwards. Soon all of the little Aesir were encircling Kayla tickling her sides. "Okay, okay I give up! Go pick on someone your own size." She mumbled through her hysterical laughter. It ended and they were all laying on the ground breathing heavily and looking like someone had bleached all the color from their figures. "Alright, heh, lets go get some clean clothes and by the time we are done we will have cookies." They all picked themselves up and some maids came and got all of the children to clean them up.

Kayla went and took a quick shower and got a change of clothes. She ran her hands through her hair as she was walking back to the kitchen to take the cookies out. She pulled her hands back and looked at them. Globs of wet flour stuck to every bit of her skin. She sighed and rinsed her hands in the sink. It would take another day or two to get all of the flour out of her hair. She pulled out the finished cookies and waited for them to cool as she started to clean up the kitchen. Most of the flour had already been cleaned up while she was in the shower.

She just finished up when everyone walked back into the kitchen. Clean and flour-free. Although Loki's hair still seemed a little lighter than usual. He looked at her and cracked a smile. She knew her gold-blond hair was probably pretty white.

"Cookies are done." Each of them pulled up a chair and sat at the table and plates of sandwiches, cookies and glasses of milk were passed around. Cautious bites of cookies were taken.

"Mmmm. These are good." Sif said

"Yes." Hogun agreed.

"I like to eat them like this." Kayla said and she dunked her cookie into her glass of milk. Everyone tried it. A chorus of delighted noises rose up above the table.

"Well should we make cookies again sometime later?" She asked.

"YES!" rang through the air.


	5. Chapter 5: The Flight

Chapter 5: The Flight

This one takes place a short time after chapter four. Pick how long you want it to be. They still act the same age as they did in the last few. So they are still the Midgard equivalent of like 6 to 8 years old.

Loki stood at the door to the throne room with Kayla. Thor had been summoned and would not be back for the rest of the day. Neither of the two by the door had any idea what he was doing. Upon the news reaching them about this from the guard the little boy's eyes betrayed a second of shock, then hurt, then anger, then he was back to his normal self. Kayla was determined to make it up to him as they walked into another room that served as the boys 'playroom', even though they rarely stayed there when playing.

"You want to see something cool?" the question rang out through the air and Loki sat against the wall.

"Go ahead" The boy nodded.

"Okay, please don't freak out." He cocked an eyebrow at her and she continued. She sat with her legs crossed in a meditative position and she closed her eyes focusing. A warm blue light wrapped itself around her body creating a chrysalis of energy. Her eyes closed and an odd tingling sensation ran on her skin as if thousands of ants were crawling all over her. Stretching into its new form her body enlarged and the light dissipated. She stood up and shook herself out, stretching her wings out and upward they almost touched the ceiling.

The whites of his eyes were probably showing much more than usual as Loki pressed his back against the wall. In front of him stood a gigantic lizard where Kayla used to be. Its silver scales rippled up and down it's body and it's teal blue wings scraped the ceiling. He blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't an illusion. It wasn't magic, he would have felt her pull energy from the air around him, it was... something else.

"It's still me Loki, I promise." Her voice emitted from the creatures throat.

"How did you do that?" He popped up, now more curious than scared. "It wasn't magic."

"No it wasn't, lets just say I have some powers and this is one of them" She said hoping it was a good enough explanation for him. Loki opened his mouth to comment then looked into her eyes, she obviously didn't want to share more so he wouldn't push. He closed his mouth. "But I want you to learn how to fly if the time ever arises that you might need to know how."

"Okay." She bent down onto her knees and allowed the boy to climb up in between her shoulder blades.

"Sit up closer onto my neck so you won't get hit by the wings. Lean forward and wrap you arms around my neck so you won't fall." She stood up and he followed directions. She walked toward the large open deck in the room.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" His voice wavered as he peeked over her neck, which hung out over the edge of the balcony.

"You'll be okay. I won't let you fall." She turned enough to look at him from one eye. They were still the same caring, comforting eyes. He relaxed and held on. "Hold on tight we are going to start slow." She started pumping her wings. to get off the ground and pushed off with her legs giving them a slow rise. A pain ran through the base of her wings. She hated taking off like this. It was always easier just to dive off the balcony and use that momentum to get her going or to get a running start, but she didn't want to scare Loki and she didn't have enough room.

She managed to get off the ground and started to go out over the balcony. He squeezed his arms around her and pressed his face into her neck. Then slowly relaxed and looked around. She banked and turned around the temple.

"It's beautiful." He whispered sitting up and putting his arms in front of him. She glanced back.

"Alright you can sit like that when we are flying relaxed like this but if I turn hard or go faster you are going to have to hold on." He nodded not really hearing her. She sped up slowly, still staying in a safe range for him to be sitting up. She spotted a distant waterfall that cascaded off the edge of one of the towers. She smiled and dropped lower heading towards it. It hit the ground miles below creating huge billows of mist that contained strips of lighted rainbows. She flew through the mist wetting both of them. Loki threw his hands up and closed his eyes feeling the wet sensation on his skin. The burst out of the mist, Kayla's scales reflecting rainbow after rainbow. Her green blue scales and fins and silvery scales complemented by the dark green garment of the boy on her back. He dropped his hands back down as she pushed higher.

"That was amazing." She turned her head back and nodded while smiling as best she could as a dragon without looking like she had thousands of horrible teeth that could puncture skin. Even though she did.

"Alright we are going to go faster now so I need you to hold on tight and lean as close into me as you can." She sped up diving down. His cape rippled behind him in the wind. Her stuns slowly became more and more elaborate. She dove straight down, tucking her wings in and snapping them open at the last second sending them shooting back up again. She tucked and turned through small openings in towers and bridges. She tucked one wing in and felt the lift from the other drive her towards the tucked wing, forcing her into a spin. She even flew upside down, causing Loki to laugh at how odd everything looked. She slowed after several hours of this. "Well I think I can say you have finished flight school, and with flying colors. Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

"Can we go to this one place I know of? I think you might like it." He directed her to his small wooded creek.

After a small flight she reached the spot and perched in a large tree. Using her tail, Loki dropped down onto the ground. She reverted to her usual self and climbed down out of the tree.

"Wow, this is beautiful." She marveled at the natural area.

"I come here a lot, to think. Sometimes to escape Thor." They smiled and giggled both knowing how obnoxious the older brother could be to the younger. He pulled off his boots and hopped to his rock. She looked around and pulled her boots off also, then hopped to a rock that was nearby to his. They stayed here for several more hours. Exploring, playing in the water, and trying to catch fish with their bare hands.

Clouds started to move in and it was getting late. So the duo flew back to the playroom and met Thor by the throne room. The sky was ever darkening and had soon been reduced to an ominous green-y blue gray. They were just getting to bed as the heavens opened and rain poured out onto the roof. Drenching the landscape instantly.


	6. Chapter 6: Water

Chapter 6: Water

An earsplitting screech interrupted Kayla's sleep and she shot upright in bed and grabbed her sore ears. Her temper flared causing her pupils to be reduced to slits. She had a very bad temper when woken up because she had not had time to put her barriers in place yet. I twisted grimace spread on her face, exposing her fangs. Still clutching her ears, which had now become pointed, she climbed out of bed, the worst part was when her temper flared her dragon senses did also. She was super acute, which only amplified the ring.

Calming herself down allowed her ears to shrink back to normal, her fangs to recede and her pupils widen to absorb more light. The alarm died out and she put her hands down and sighed. Everyone else is very lucky that they cannot hear that, at first Fenrir had been affected by the noise until she took the pitch up even higher to a point that was a far range past dog's hearing. A cloak was pulled over her shoulders and she started to walk out.

Bang! "Ow!" She murmured rubbing her hip which had just connected with the corner of her bedside table. A flash of light illuminated the dark room, but it was shortly followed by a loud bang. It was storming.

She managed to find her way out of the room. She hurried down the hallway as fast as she could without running. Every few seconds a flash of lightning would shine on the gold floors and rolling thunder would commence. Some of the lights were even joined by a sizzling noise indicating how close the strike had actually been. She opened the door to the two brother's bedroom. She was suddenly attacked by a blurred green and black figure that flew across the room.

"I'm here Lokes." She bent down and hugged him lifting him up into her arms. Carrying him out of the room she set him down and continued to walk down the hallway. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"No"

"Then what's wrong?" Another round of thunder and lightning shot through the hall. Loki yelped and latched onto her leg. "Oh... Your scared of the storm." He nodded his head rubbing his face on her pants in the process. "Alright now, you better not be getting snot on my pajamas." Muffled giggles floated into the air and she grabbed his hand once again pulling him up into a comforting embrace. "Don't worry. I gotcha."

The lights in the room flicked on as Kayla and Loki walked in.

"You know, things aren't as scary when you know what they are. Come here I will show you."

She had grabbed Loki's blanket when they left and brought it and a chair with her as she went as far out onto the balcony as they could without getting wet. She sat down and Loki cautiously started to walk out. A flash rang out in the air and he scrambled towards her, nearly throwing himself into her. She wrapped the blanket around them both, holding him in her lap. The storm grew more and more intense as rumbles of thunder rang out every few seconds.

"Up there in the clouds, lots of little bits of ice move around really fast and they run into each other a lot. Each of these little collisions creates an electric charge, and sooner or later the whole cloud is charged. The ground gets an opposite charge than the bottom of the cloud. When these opposite charges get close, a little electrical explosion takes place. The light and noise is from that explosion."

Loki looked up at her looking considerably calmer as she continued to explain all about the weather and storms. Her soft voice mingled with the storm, creating a calming cacophony. Loki felt his eyelids drooping as he curled up his little body against hers. In a pause Kayla glanced down at the young boy, who had fallen asleep in her lap, shivering slightly from the cold. She pulled the blanket tighter around him and leaned back in the chair, the violent storm had slowed to a quiet shower and she listened to the pitter patter of raindrops hitting the stone balcony.

Sunlight warmed Kayla's face and the bright light shown through her tightly shut eyes. The light blinding her as she opened them up, she blinked several times to allow her pupils to adjust. Upon looking around she found that she had fallen asleep in the chair, Loki curled in her lap and his dark green blanket draped over them both. The sunlight illuminated his pale face and dark hair in a manner that made him appear as if he was glowing.

His mouth opened into a noisy yawn and his arms reached out, almost hitting Kayla in the process. His eyelids cracked open allowing his large green eyes to peek out.

"Good Morning Loki." She said, lifting him off her lap and onto the floor. Getting up, she pulled on a sweatshirt to combat the chilly morning air and slid on some boots. Then, grabbing the blanket and its owner, she walked down the hallway to wake Thor. 'Another typical morning' rang through her head 'I wake Thor, make breakfast...' She allowed Loki to dress and went to wake Thor but her thoughts were interrupted when she looked into the top bunk to find nothing but messy sheets. "Where's Thor?" Her mind snapped into an alert mode and she quickly found a servant to answer her question.

Clashes, clangs, grunts and many more noises rang throughout the room. Thor had woken early along with Sif and the Warriors Three to train. It was now mid-day and they had spent most of it in the large golden room filled with racks of various weapons and large bags filled with various things hung from the ceiling. Loki held back in a corner of the room, not participating and looking quite nervous.

"Why don't you go out and train with everyone else, Lokes?" Loki rubbed his arm and looked to the floor while tracing small circles with his toes.

"I, uh.. well..." He chewed on his lip nervously for a second then continued "I am just not a very good fighter compared to everyone else. Even Sif is able to beat me, and shes a girl."

"Hey now don't discredit us just because we are girls. And take a look. Sif beats almost everyone, even Thor."

"That's just because Thor doesn't want to hit her too hard." He looked around then whispered "It's really obvious he likes her but he either doesn't know or would never admit it." Kayla's giggles rang out from behind her hand. "And I also don't want to train because I want to show father a new spell I learned. It's a very hard one and it takes a lot of energy. I've been training for months and have waited all week to show him. But hes been busy doing something with Thor the whole time." A hint of bitterness shown in his voice that he didn't bother to conceal. He trusted her enough that he didn't have to, or want to for that matter.

"Well I am sure you will do really good!" Excitement tinted her words as she tried to cheer him up.

"FATHER!" He rushed passed Kayla. "I have something to show you. I have been training very very hard..."

"Father! Come look! I have done it! I mastered that trick you showed me last week!"

"Very good, Thor. Show me. Hold on a moment Loki." Loki visibly flinched as the comment shattered the mask he had always constructed so carefully.

"How could you?" He muttered, Odin turned and glanced his way. "How could you?" His quiet pained whispers had soon commanded everyone's attention. His shoulders were hunched in a dejected pose and his face was hidden from view. "ITS ALWAYS THOR, THOR, THOR! I'VE BEEN TRAINING FOR MONTHS! MONTHS! JUST TO SHOW YOU THIS! AND SUDDENLY THOR WANTS TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING AND I GET BRUSHED TO THE SIDE! HOW CAN YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME?! YOU DON'T! YOUR LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH WHEN YOU SAY IT!"

He suddenly turned to Thor. "I AM YOUR BROTHER! AND YOU DISREGARD ME ALL THE TIME! HOW COME EVERYONE LOVES YOU SO MUCH?! WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU?! YOUR JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! YOU'RE SO STUPID! ALL YOU DO IS FIGHT AND EAT AND YOUR UTTERLY DISGUSTING! I AM THE ONE WHO IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT AND YET EVERYONE LOVES YOU!"

Looking at them both with tears streaming down his eyes he shook his head. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU BOTH!" He broke into a sprint and ran out of the room. The shock of it all took a moment to register on the family's faces.

Thor broke down, dropping to his knees tears streamed through his fingers. He never meant to hurt his brother. He loved Loki more than anyone else but for all that he couldn't understand what made Loki so angry.

Odin's didn't shed a tear but his one visible eye betrayed the hurt he suffered. He went to go after his son but an arm stopped him.

"Don't." Kayla's green blue eyes connected with his as he pushed against her arm. "He needs some time." Understanding, he backed off and the pained father went out of the room. Kayla knelt down next to Thor and put a hand on his shoulder. His watery blue eyes looked up and he folded into the hug she offered. She knew that it should be Odin here not her, comforting Thor. But the Allfather was just as hurt, if not more, as Thor was. The other children looked on in an uncomfortable silence, but decided not to break it because they felt their friends yelling was just as much directed at them as it was at Thor.

Loki burst out of the hall and against all common sense used a warp spell as he was running, using his pain to fuel the magic. He needed to get out of there. He needed to get away from everyone before he hurt someone. He was loosing his control. His magic sparked around him and he was suddenly by the creek. Screaming he dropped to his knees and curled into a ball on the soft grass. Dark green magic pulsed around him sending shock waves into the surrounding area that rippled the leaves and the surface of the water. He stood up, his tears drying because he had no more left to cry. The ground around where he stood was burnt to a crisp and left over pieces of grass caught flame and were quickly obliterated.

Not bothering to pull off his boots, he leaped across the rocks to the large stone in the middle. Where he curled up in a ball and rocked himself back and forth.

Even as he did so, the atmosphere grew darker and darker. Casting everything in shadows and tinting the sky an ugly green.


	7. Chapter 7: Fight

Chapter 7: Fight

Loki was not really awake but not really asleep either. Even so, horrible dreams and memories, powered by his magic, tortured his mind. While immersed in this state the scenery around him changed drastically. The green tinted clouds opened up, pouring water onto the ground below in sheets. Lightning arched across the sky, wind tore through the trees and the small creek turned into rapids causing water to cover the stones which served as a path to the shore. The large stone in the middle stood out, become the only stone not under several feet of water.

Loki's eyes shot open as his wet socks rubbed against his feet oddly. "Why would my socks..." He pondered to himself as he looked down to find his boots covered in water from the rushing rapids. He pulled his feet out of the water and huddled into the middle of the rock. His powers were drained from his emotional outburst, attempting magic now would be suicide. The pouring rain stung his skin and limited his vision to the shore which was only a little ways in front of him, but agonizingly out of reach.

_BOOM-CRACK_

Lightning lit up his surroundings and Loki buried his head into knees, quivering. His usually calm and mature attitude was stripped away to reveal that he was merely a young child that was scared, cold, and shivering in the rain.

A heavy cloak was found and thrown over her shoulders and Kayla burst onto her balcony. She shifted her body into a dragon form and ran forward. Tossing herself out into the air she dove down, the ground rushed forward toward her. Her wings snapped out at the last second and her tail brushed the pavement below. The accumulated speed shot her forward and towards the forest. Lightning crackled through the clouds around her, often missing her by only a small amount. The rain obscured her senses. Sight, smell, and hearing were rendered almost completely useless. She was flying blind. She threw all sense of caution into the wind and pumped her wings to gain more speed. She could have waited and gone on horse back but that would have taken more than twice as long. Only one thought was coursing through her mind.

'_Loki is out there. Alone'_

Loki's head peaked up cautiously from its cover when branches snapped. The rain continued to pelt him and he was soaked to the bone and shivering furiously.

Trees snapped and broke like twigs as a giant scaly beast burst into the clearing. Its large antlers swung back and forth as it sniffed the air. A bildgesnipe, he had never seen one before, but stories of their danger rang in his mind. They had killed some of the best warriors in Asgard. Loki caught more movement out of the corner of his eye as shadows raced along the ground from all directions towards the bildgesnipe. The spots of darkness swirled around it obscuring its body from vision with a dark pulsating cloud while its primal screeches echoed from within. The tendrils of darkness imploded folding around the form of the bildgesnipe, creating a shadowy form of it. It stood, beady black eyes glaring at Loki. It pawed the ground, facing towards him, its call echoing through the trees.

Kayla circled around the clearing as best she could with the wind. She could have sworn Loki would be here. One of the exotic monsters of this land was in the clearing and she watched in terror as a Serron took control of the already dangerous Asgardian monster.

"Great, a Nadzor" she muttered to herself. They were a low class Shadow in terms of power on their own, but their power grew to the amount of the thing they were controlling. Puppet-masters were the nick-name Scott had given them and this one had just taken control of one of the most powerful creatures in Asgard.

If that wasn't enough, the rain cleared enough for her to get a good look at the river and a familiar green cape flapped in the wind. The rock. She mentally slapped herself, the river had flooded all exit and now and the puppet-master pawed the ground preparing to charge towards the figure that was there.

The monster rushed towards him and Loki squeezed his eyes shut, readying himself for the end. He wondered if it was like the stories portrayed it. Would he be allowed to go to Valhalla? Was he too young? Would he be confined to the depths of Hel?

"I am sorry father! Thor!" A final unheard call, in hopes that they would forgive him for his foolish outburst.

A blast of air hit his face and a roar registered in his brain. He peeked through his fingers. A silver tail whipped back and forth as the form of the person he had come to know as a friend latched onto the thing. It stumbled backwards and fell onto Kayla's tail. Struggling to free her tail, she used her strong legs to push against the monsters back but to no avail. Blue light wrapped around her as she returned to her normal form. Muddy but freed she stood and her hands move to a fighting position.

Kayla dove down onto the monster, had her fighting instincts not taken over, Loki probably would have died right there. She bit at its neck as it bucked and turned, trying to throw her. Her tail whipped around and her wings flapped out as she started to loose her grip on the thing. It fell, throwing her off, her first instinct was to fly, but she knew that the force of the air would throw Loki off the rock and into the rapids below. She clamped her wings to her side, fighting that natural instinct to flap them. Suddenly she was yanked by her tail and slammed down on her back. Groaning she pulled her head out of the mud. She pushed against the Shadow to free her tail, but ended up shifting back to a human instead. Standing she pushed the mud out of her eyes.

"Loki, don't move! I'll be right there!" she screamed but it never reached him as it was stolen away by the wind.

Aura wrapped around her fists as she blasted bolts at the thing as it struggled to stand again. A movie flashed into her mind, giving her and idea. She pressed her middle and ring fingers to her palm and fired shots of aura at the thing, making it stringy and sticky. Pinning it to the ground effectively. She tromped through the mud until her toes were next to its head. Its head rolled around in an unnatural motion until it its head was almost backwards. There was a sickening crack as the spine dislocated and the spinal cord snapped, allowing the Nadzor to have free motion of the creatures head. It bent back facing her as a spear of shadow magic burst from its mouth. She rolled, but it was too late, the spear slammed into her side, spinning her face down into the mud. She rolled over a grimace plastered over her face as she grabbed the wound. Blood blossomed through the rips in her clothing and onto her fingers. The rain mixed with the thick red liquid letting it run down her arm and into the mud in a large stream. She moved, attemting to sit up and winced, snapping her head back. She managed to suppress the scream that was coming through her lips. She stood her hand clenched to her side to try and stop the bleeding. She limped back up to the Shadow. That bolt had been its last try. The bildgesnipe it was attached to is dying from a broken spine and the Nadzor was only barely keeping it alive. It had to disconnect from the thing and leave, she needed to defeat it here and now before it left. If she didn't it would only continue to ravage the area. Her hands pulled up to her chest forming a circle. She shut her eyes as power swirled around her and formed a small ball inside her hands that gradually got bigger. Power was drained from her body and the bleeding increased as she formed the portal needed to vanquish the Nadzor. She gritted her teeth as it was sucked in. The portal snapped shut with a pop. Relaxing Kayla tipped her head back. Feeling the rain on her face wash away the blood from the other minor scrapes she had accumulated.

Loki watched in awe as Kayla made short work of the... _thing. _The glow around her was gone in an instant and she stood before the dead bildgesnipe. She turned to look at Loki, her hand clamped to her side. As she approached Loki saw the blood. He gasped, breathing heavily 'Blood, there was so much blood.' he thought, unable to look away. Dark red coated her lower arm and stained her clothing. Large drops dripped between her fingers with every labored breath. She looked up and smiled forcefully trying to calm him down. Trying to say 'Its alright. I'm okay.' but it wasn't convincing. He gripped the rock staring at her.

_Pain._ Burning pain shot through her chest with each breath. Her hands shook and she struggled to stay upright.

"I'm loosing too much blood" she muttered as her vision blurred. Shaking her head she continued to walk, she couldn't fall asleep now. If she did she might never wake up, but she was so tired.

"Kayla? Are you alright? Talk to me?" A panicked voice yelled into her ear, she hissed moving her head away from the noise and she continued to walk as best she could.

"Yeah Scott. I'm fine. Just not so loud, kay?"

"No you are not fine. Your heart rate is slowing, your body at base is bleeding and coughing up blood. What _sh_- um I mean What the _heck_ did you get yourself into this time?" She laughed, then stopped as more pain fired through her chest. She didn't like swearing and Scott had a potty-mouth to rival anyone's. He tried to keep it calm around her though.

"Puppet-master. It took over a bildgesnipe. As a last effort it shot a shadow spear at me. Caught me in the side. I'm bleeding pretty badly."

Scott swore colorfully through her earpiece.

"That's it I am bringing you back right now."

"NO! Don't. I'm fine. Loki is in danger. It's my job to help him. I'm fine."

"Bu-"

"Hunter! This is an order. Whatever happens, do not bring me back." With that she switched off her com-link to the base and continued her slow path to the edge of the river.

Static electricity built up around her and she stopped.

_BOOOOM!_

The world around Kayla turned black and she was thrown forward.

Static energy had built up around the creek. Loki could feel it. Suddenly an earsplitting bang echoed through the area and a blast of white light obscured his vision. A shock wave pushed him back on the rock.

When his eyes started functioning again, Loki saw Kayla laying face first in the mud. Not moving.

"KAYLA!" He screamed. He could barely hear his own voice through the ringing in his ears. If she could hear him. She didn't move. "KAYLA!" He screamed again. The teenage girl didn't move at all. No matter how loud he yelled.


	8. Chapter 8: Bloody Green Crystal

Chapter 8: Bloody Green Crystal

Her sight was cloaked in blackness, a certain coolness wrapped around her body like a blanket and silence enveloped her senses. It was comforting, Kayla concluded. Her thoughts echoed through her darkened mind. She was so tired... maybe she could just go to sleep.

Thousands of ants raced over her skin as feeling returned to her body. Her fingers clutched at cold wetness, one side of her face was planted firmly into the ground and heavy raindrops pelted her skin. Even so, her tired body, aching side and muscles refused to move. A ringing grew in her ears, and faded away to a cacophony of noises. The splat of raindrops, rushing of water and over it all a desperate call for help.

"KAYLA!"

"KAYLA GET UP!"

She stirred, Loki. 'I can't leave him' She strained against her natural instincts, tugging her arms out of the mud and planting them on either side of her. She pushed slowly, her whole body screamed, begging her to stay still, to just relax. Her arms quaked, the pulses rattling her teeth and making fresh red blood squirt from her side. She collapsed face first, mud shooting into her nose and mouth. Once again, she struggled, and managed to push herself onto her hands and knees. Body convulsing suddenly, she coughed, crimson spattered the small white rocks that stuck up through the mud. Even so, she continued moving. Hoisting herself onto her feet took a small step towards the river and dragged a useless foot behind her. This continued for several seconds until she was at the bank, a grimace was pasted on her face and her skin was becoming more and more cold and clammy. She looked out at the rock and the young boy sitting on it. And a small whisper ran through her mind "Your job is to protect the dimensions from these creatures" It was something she had heard every day since she found Seren... And it was her _duty_ not just her will but her _duty_ to protect this boy who had become so close to her. She held out her arms...

"Loki! Loki, you have to jump!"

His emerald eyes scanned the water "I-I-I can't... I can't do it"

"Loki, you have to. There is no other way I can get to you right now." She pleaded with him then her calm voice sputtered and she coughed into her arm. When she removed it, a fresh blossom of red had stained the fabric.

He stood, slowly, carefully and motioned his arms back and forth. He shut his eyes and leaped into the air, as far as he possibly could.

Kayla reached out and snatched him from the air, the force of his weight knocking them both into the mud with a splash. Loki scampered off the top of Kayla as fast as he could and took a few steps back giving her room to stand. She took a labored breath but didn't move. "Loki... Loki you need to run and get home. I won't be able to walk that far." Her soft smile couldn't reach her eyes. She pulled her cloak off and draped it over his shoulders.

"...But..."

"No buts Loki you need to go."

His bottom lip quivered and his eyes were brightly illuminated for a few seconds as a flash of lightning arced across the sky. "But if I leave you... you... there's no way you could survive" Kayla sighed. Loki was smart. Sometimes too smart for his own good. He needed to leave. Her time as Guardian would have been short but she did her duty well. She had nothing left to live for in her own dimension anyway. Scott would break the news to Nathaniel and Skyler. They would have each other, they would be okay. The army would be fine, they would miss her and a new guardian would come in. Serenity... she felt her heart twang. Serenity was strong, she would leave the army and hunt out the thing that killed her parents. It would all be okay, her heart rate slowed more and more. Suddenly a cold tingling feeling branched across her side. She looked up to see Loki, his pained face illuminated a faint green and a emerald crystal spreading across her wounds, holding her precious life blood in. The gossamer glow faded and he folded into himself, collapsing on the ground. Drained but he would be okay.

"Ha.." A smile spread on her face "the dang kid may have just saved my life." Her good arm reached up to her ear and switched back on the com link. "Scott, your orders have been revoked" She coughed, her voice quieting and black tinged the edges of her vision "Medical assistance is needed immediately... and take Loki home." Her vision was engulfed in black and she lost consciousness to vivid swearing in her ear.


	9. Chapter 9: Safe

Scott stood at the foot of the throne of Asguard, the king sat pondering the news that he had just been given. _Why is this taking so long? Kayla, why do you have to be so complicated? _He shifted his weight, taping his fingers on his thigh. _I need to get back dam- dangit! Jeezus, your even getting into my head. You might break me of my swearing habit yet. _He smiled, containing his laughter at his own thoughts of his boss and close friend.

"What you propose is... interesting" the grainy voice of the imposing man on the throne broke his thoughts.

_Well I could have assumed that from how long you sat there you... _Rethinking the idea of using his... _diverse..._ language to describe the king. "Yes, Kayla, the woman you hired as a _babysitter_ has finished her temporary job here. You wont be seeing her here for quite some time. Both due to her... outside.. job and her injuries."

"and _quite some time_ would be."

"Several millennia for the people in Midguard, although would only people enough time for your children to grow up here." He allowed his annoyance to tinge his voice, not bothering to hide it anymore. _Kayla might be dying and I am sitting here dealing with freaking politics._

"If that is her choice. I will inform the boys when they wake up, Thank you. You are dismissed"

Scott turned his back to the throne, his black hair flipping out of place in the process. _Hm must be time for a cut. _He thought as he casually split the space fabric with his blood red aura, creating a portal back to base. He stepped through it, not breaking his stride. It closed with a slight pop, the red crystalline fragments of his aura sparkling in the air was the only evidence he left.

_blip... blip... blip... blip... blip_

The constant beeps of a heart monitor lingered through the air only to be replaced by the next as Kayla opened her eyes. The world was fuzzy and bright and she slowly made out heads around her as the room came into focus.

She was in the infirmary wing of base, in one of the white and blue clad hospital-style rooms that were a stark contrast from the black marble the rest of the base was made of. Her friends and coworkers stood over her worried expressions painted on their faces like death masks.

"Kayla are you there?" someone said waving their hand over her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah Scott, Im awake, im awake" she muttered batting his hand away

"How do you feel?" another, slightly higher and more nasal voice said, Xavier

"Like my insides have been chopped up, melted, freeze dried, then warmed back up with a microwave oven but other than that great."

The room laughed, knowing her slightly snotty remark ment she was fine as she tried her best to sit up and had a glass of water pushed towards her face. She took it, greedily sucking its contents down.

"So, how long til I can actually get back up and moving about again?"

"You got a few weeks before you'll be able to walk on your own. You took a nice chunk out of your side and sustained a few minor fractures to your ankle. It will probably be a few months before we will release you for field work again." The doctor said looking over her stylish glasses.

_Great. A few months, now I'll have no excuse to get out of that desk work that Xavier gives me. _She gritted her teeth, she might as well catch up with some of her studies while she's out too, if Xavier gives her a break from paperwork.


	10. Chapter 10: Second Attack

Back and forth, back and forth. The blue flame paused on her thumb, flickering in the air from her soft breathing. Waiting for it to stop she started again once more, back and forth, back and forth. Rolling the little blue cluster of sparks and heat into a ball and flicking it between her fingers. She changed its shape again in her palm, ball to flame to dagger and back to flame again.

Kayla sighed, closing her fist around the flame, effectively extinguishing it in a puff of smoke and sparks. It had been a week since she had gotten her strength back enough to use her aura, and she wasn't making any progress. She pulled her shirt up a little, inspecting what was left of the wound on her side, they had pulled the stitches out a few days ago. She shook her head, letting her soft black pajama shirt drop from her hand, replacing it with a pencil. She tapped the edge of it on the small desk they fixed over her hospital bed so she could write. Her eyes scanned over the pages of a book that lay open next to a long page of paperwork. Resisting the urge to set it on fire, she started scribbling down words in the blanks and reviewing the mission reports.

A knock on the door made her head snap up. "Come in" she replied to the knock without looking up.

The door clicked on its stopper and boot heels snapped on the tile floor as the guest walked up to her desk, tapping a black gloved hand on the corner. Her blue eyes swung up to the owner of the hand's face, Xavier.

"There has been a... complication" he stated, she sighed taking her glasses off and rubbing the skin between her eyes with her fore finger and thumb. "Your previous mission, we thought there was just one shadow, it turns there were two. The other has been growing and we think that the best time to face would be in New York. Here are the specks, come and get me when you feel good enough to go." He tossed a pile of papers onto her desk and with a stiff salute he turned and walked out the door.

Picking the first paper up off the desk she sighed again, placing her glasses back on her face. "God Xavier needs to lighten up, and start making the mission briefs a little shorter while he is at it." She started scanning through papers once again.

~6 months later~

Kayla perched on the edge of a building in the usually beautiful New York, smoldering remnants of her portal behind her matching the destruction below. People ran in different direction and screams echoed up into the sky, her head was filled with the stench of smoke and death. She had spent hours watching footage and timing the exact moment she would need to enter the Stark tower. She stood up watching as the group of superheros dubbed the Avengers, cornered the man who was once the sweet little boy she knew. Soft footsteps echoed into the building through the broken glass and the group whipped around, ready for action, save for Bruce and Clint. They kept their eyes trained on the figure clad in green, whose curious green eyes met hers in shock, fear and anger and behind it all a pleading cry from the little boy he once was. Tony readied his repulsers, despite her out-turned palms like white flags. A huge smile spread across the face of a certain thunder god.

"Kayla, it is so good to see you my friend" He swept her up into a bone crushing hug.

"Wow Thor, you've gotten big! But could you let me go your kinda crushing my ribs" She hit the floor with a thunk as she breathed in the sweet, sweet air again.

"I'm sorry mam, but you would be..." Soft blue eyes filled with nervousness and concern swept over her as she was helped up.

"Kayla, its nice to meet you" she replied shaking his hand "I'm not here to do any damage or anything and I know you want to deal with Lokes here." Loki blushed crimson at the mention of his childhood nickname and the many of the company snickered "but I hate to tell you that we have bigger fish to fry."

"You mean to tell me it's not over" Natasha replied

"Yeah, sorry, but your going to have to trust me, this is not something you can deal with, I need you to start evacuating people now."

"We just dealt with reindeer games and his alien invasion here and you mean to tell me it could get worse"

"Sorry mam, but I don't think you know how capable we are, and theres no way a small girl like you could handle something we can't"

"If I may interrupt" The group whipped around once more priming their weapons on Loki "she is right, not that my word has much credit, but I have seen her take down things that are alien to even Asguardians."

"I could prove it to you but honestly I don't think we have enough ti..." The building rocked as an explosion rang out. The Guardian's eyes widened enough that you could see whites around the entire iris. "It's here"

"Get people out of here, NOW! There is no time to argue" Black tendrils raced through the broken glass. A teal blue pane surrounded the group and sparked with light as the tendrils banged into the shield over and over like little fingers tapping on glass. "On second thought, don't leave. Its too late now."

"I want to help" Clint said eying the shield.

"All of us do." Natasha added grimace on her face. It was one of those I don't know who you are but, since you seem to be protecting this city we will help you.

"I don't know how you can help honestly, but Loki can." Their faces expressed more shock than was already there. "Loki, your magical powers are controlled by your aura, although you might not know that. Auric weapons are the only thing that can hurt these things." He nodded and added his green aura to hers in the shield to strengthen the cracks that were already forming. Millennia of practice since she had last since him had made him an accomplished controller of his aura.

"I have an idea that might or might not work." He said glancing at her, voice strained through the focus of maintaining the shield. "Thor remember when I coated Mjollner with that sticky green magic"

"Ay, but what of it brother?"

"Loki, your a genius. That just might work." With that she went around the group, coating Hawkeye's arrows, Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield and so on and so forth.

"Okay, thing is I need to get to that thing's head so I can destroy the source of it." They gazed at the monster as it finally came into full view, towering several stories over Stark Tower. "Now I can fly but I need a distraction or I will never make it up a story. Both Loki and I's strong auras make us a target so we will both need protection. The coatings on your weapons will wear off so it will be Loki's job to keep them up and running."

"Alright..." Tony nodded his helmet snapping down "AVENGERS ASSEMBLE"


End file.
